Costa Brava ditched by holiday firms

Spain's Costa Brava is being dropped by top-name package holiday firms after a slump in the sale of packages and charter flight seats.

A combination of poor quality hotels at expensive prices and the growth of no-frills airlines such as Ryanair in the region has led First Choice to drop the area from its summer 2005 brochures, Travel Weekly magazine reported. Cosmos is reported to be considering following suit.

The resorts of Lloret de Mar, Tossa de Mar and Blanes are being cut. The towns, to the north-east of Barcelona, have been synonymous with package holidays for British tourists since the mid-1950s.

In a further setback, Club 18-30 is to axe Lloret de Mar and Benidorm, saying it is becoming too much like Blackpool.

Figures to the end of February, even before the March 11 terror attacks, showed visits to Spain were down 23%, Travel Weekly reported.

Part of the blame was attributed to a 14% rise in hotel rates.

The situation is a turnaround from last year's news that Spain had overtaken France as the most popular destination for British tourists, with 12.5 million Britons visiting there in 2002 compared to 12.1 million visiting France.

First Choice's product director, Tim Williamson, told the magazine that his company's entire Costa Brava programme would go because the number of beds booked in the area had "not kept pace with the market".

He said there needed to be more themed hotels and quality three-star self-catering or apartment hotels.

"It's not just about building more premium beds. Even the value customers are raising their expectations. In many parts of Spain these properties are being developed - in the Costa Brava they aren't," he said.

Flight capacity to Gerona has grown from 300,000 passengers in 1993 to 1.5m last year, after Ryanair's entry. Holidaymakers are now booking their own hotels and car hire. They are also trying more adventurous destinations.

Thomas Cook UK's chief executive, Manny Fontenla-Novoa, said that customers would opt for cheaper alternatives to Spain: Turkey, Croatia, Bulgaria and the Caribbean.

"Customers are chasing value, predominantly that's price," he said.

But the co-president of the Spanish hotel chain Barcelo Hotels and Resorts, Simon-Pedro Barcelo, said: "Travellers to Spain will be happy to pay a couple of pounds more because the service will be good."

First Choice sends about 10% of the 140,000 package passengers a year who go to the Costa Brava from Britain. Mr Williamson said the Costa Brava was giving customers destination fatigue.